Golf instructing apparatus



Feb.26,1'929." 1,703,375

A. c. VOLK GOLF INSTRUCTING APPARATUS- Filed Nov- 15, 1927 s sheets-sum1 Feb. 26, 1929.

, 1,703,375 A. c. VOLK GOLF .INSTRUCTING APPARATUS Filed Nov-15, 1927SSheets-Sheet 2 7/1/114 r1114 'IIIl/A VII/II fill/4 WVEA/me PatentedFeb. 26, 1929.

UNITED STATES;

imam vet-x en nti'turn, mivmsora.

Gena insrneornve APPARATUS.

Application med November 15,1927; Serial No. 233,448; a

My invention has reference generally to ex ercising apparatus andparticularly, although not necessarily, I to apparatus for instructinggolf players in theseiene'e of the golf swing.

A comn'ion fault in the golf swing and one which strongly contributes toslicing, topping, sclaiiing, and nistiniing is t vie in'lproper pivotingof the body inrcla tion to the movement of the on the downwardswing. iarticularly in the run swingas with a wooden club or a mid-iron, thenatural tendency at the top the swing is to turn the body siinnltaneously with downward movement of the This results in the handsleading the club head in respect to the ball, producing some or all oftie faults previously mentioned. I

it is a purpese of my invention to provide an apparatus capable of beingreadily applied to the bodyand operating to restrain pivoting of thebody in a golf swing in a manner to delay body pivotingatthe topv of theswing monientarliy an just long enough to causethe arms to initiate thedown swing independentlyof the body, that is to say, in advance of anyturning movement of he body whence theproper relation is assumed of thearms, body, and club head tothe perfect striking of the ball. A

I will describe only oneforin of golf instructing apparatus embodyinginven tion andwill then point out the novel features in claims.

in. the aecon'ipanyingdrawings: I

owing iniperspective one i cting apparatus embody- "ion in appliedposition to the v and ready for use; T i

belt

2 a detail perspective View of .the nbodied 111 the apparatus shown incontrol mechanism embodied in the apparatus with the supportingrodstherefor insec- .tion;

v In itspresent embodiment, my apparatus Ellis an enlarged top plan viewoftlie comprises a support adapted to beattached to man or otherverticalstructure, and which includes upper andlower brackets and 16,

' anda pair of rods :17 the ends of which are received 1n sockets 18 and19 on the brackets 15 and 16, respectively, whereby the rods aresupported in upright and parallel spaced position. A casing 20 ismounted on therods 1'? for vertica adjustment by the provision of ears21 slidableon the rods and capable of being locked in fixed positionthereon by means of set screws 22 (Fig. 3). Thecasing 20 is preferablyof the form shown in Fig. 3, with its fiatfside open but nori'nal'lyclosed by a cover plate 23 secured in place by screws 24-.

The casing 2O is provided centrally with bearings 25 inwhich isiournaled a shaft 26, and secured to this shaft is asheave27 provided onits periphery with two separate and dist nct annular grooves 28 and 29in which cords 30 andBl, respectively, are trained with their inner endssecured in pockets 32' and-33, respectively, by means ofscrews 34, allas clearly shown in Fig. 4-. The opposite ends of the cor'ds areextended from the "casing through openings 35 in the cover plate 23,tieir outer: extremities being provided with rings 36 adapted to beengaged by snap hooks 37 secured to the ends of tangential extensions 38of a belt 39. ,In the use of my invention as a golf instructingapparatus, the belt 39 is applied to the body, as illustrated in F jg.1, and by reason of its construction it would be manifest that it may beadjusted to embrace the body with sufficient security to prevent:hfeumferential move nenfl theeroi on the body so that it wi'llturn withany pivotal movement of-the body. p p h As shown in li ies. 3 ands theupper end of the shatt'itl has tisredthereto a ratchet wheel. 41( ene'ap'ed by a paw teeth 42 ant, 433. It is es teeth 4-2 and 43 beroundedas illu strated, and

that the teeth of the ratchet wheel iO be such that the interveningrecesses begrounded to receive the teeth ended. The' pawl is provide-clwith a reduced extension 4% as clearly illustrated -in F gzfi', which isdisposed within the bifurcated end ota link 46,;21 pivot pin 4.? beingextended through the link end 45 and the rediiced portion dab-and thusproviding a' pivotal support, forfthe pawl. -The portion 44 is soreduced as to provide lips 4-8 along one edge of th pawl to ,engage 'thebifurcated end 45 an l'imitth pivotal m vem nter the pawl in onedirection and to the position shown in Fig. 3. A spring all) isassociated with the pawl and pivot pin to yieldably urge the pawl to theposition shown in Fig. 8. The link lti in turn is pivotally mounted onthe bifurcated end 50 of a rod 51, a. pin 52 being extended through themeeting ends of the link and rod to pivotally connect the two and into aslot 53 in the upper side of the casing as illustrated in Fig. at. Aspring 5% is mounted on the pin 52 and is associated *ith the rod 51andlink d6 so to yieldabiy urge the latter toward the ratchet wheel ll)in order to maintain the pawl. ill in engage ment with the ratchetwheel. The rod 51 is movable longitudinally within the sleeve 55, castintegral with the casing 20 and closed at its opposite ends by screwplugs 5'6 and provided with openings tl'irough which the rod 51 isextended. The rod is provided with a collar 58, and interposed betweethe collar and the plug 57 is an expansible spring 59 which operates tourge the rod inwardly toward the ratchet wheel. The tension of thisspring in respect to the rod 51 can be varied by an adjustment of theplug A washer 60 of rubber or other suitable mateial is mounted on therod 51 so as to be interposed between the collar 58 and the plug 56 forthe purpose of reducing wear and preventing injury to the collar andplug when the rod is driven inwardly by the spring 59. The rod issecured against any turning movement within the sleeve by reason of thepin 52 and the slot 53. Thus, the link 46 and the pawl ll are maintainedin proper operative relation to the ratchet wheel 40.

An ear 6.1 is formed on the upper side of the casing 20, and threaded inthis car is a setscrew 62 having a lock nut 63 for securing the screw inany adjusted posi tiou. This screw is designed to limit movement of thelink 46 in a clockwise direction about the pin 52 2s a center, and byreason of its adjustment the movement of the link can be varied asdesired for a purpose to be descrioed hereinafter.

In practice, the belt 89 is applicail to the body, preferably at apointjust above the hips, as illustrated in Fig. i, it being necessary thatthe belt be adjusted sufiicicntly tight to prevent movement thereof onthe body so that any turning movement body will impart a correspondingmovement to the belt. Vlith the extensions 38 attached to the cords and31, the operator moves away from the casing 20 a distance sufiicient toremove any slack from the cords so that the latter are extendedhorizontally from the casing, all as illustrated in Fig. 1. in theproper execution of the golf swing, the body pivot-s or turns to theright on the upswing ot the club and to the left on the downswing, theleft pivot exceeding in movement of (if LOG the right to complete thefollow-through. l Vith the belt 39 applied as described, itwill be clearthat under the pivotal movement of the body on'the upswing of the club,the belt is actuated or turned circumferentially to exert a pull on theextension 38 which is mitted to the cord 30 thereby unwinding the cordfrom the sheave 2'? and thus rotating" the latter in a clockwisedirect-ion as when viewed in 7. Simu taneously, the other extension 88is moved rearwardly and the cord 31 wound upon the sheave an amountcorresponding to the unwinding of the cord 30.

At the beginning of the aforesaid turning movement of the sheave 27, thecontrol de vice is the position illustrated in 7 wherein the tooth d3 ofthe pawl 41 is in en gagement with the ratchet wheel 40. With rotation01" the sheave the ratchet wheel is likewise rotated in a clockwisedirection, as indicated by the arrow, and by reason of the mounting andpositioning of the pawl 41, it rides freely over the teeth of theratchet wheel so as not to restrict rotation of the latter or the sheave27. Thus, body pivoting during the upswing of the club is not restrictedby the apparatus. Upon reaching the top of the swing pivoting of thebody is reversed so as to rotate the belt 39 in the op posits directionto that rotated during the uaswing. As a consequence, a pull is nowexerted on the cord 31 thereby rotating the sheave 27 and. the ratchetwheel in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow in 8. Byreason of the tangential position of the pawl 41 such rotative move mentof the ratchet wheel is opposed by the pawl, but yieldingly so, andbecause or the mounting of the pawl. Under the pull er;- erted on thecord 31 the ratchet wheel moves the pawl from the tangential positionshown in Fig. 'i to the radial position shown in .lig. 8. "lhislongitudinal movement oi the pawl is transmitted through the link l6 tothe rod 51 moving the latter outwardly through the cylinder to theposition illustrated in Fig. 8. Such movement is yielding ly opposed bythe spring 59, and consequently the pull exerted on the cord 31 must besuilicient to overcome the tension of the spring before the sheavecanirespond to'permit unwinding of the cord 31. The requisite pull issuflicient to restrain or delay reverse pivoting oi the body or theoperator at the instant oi initiating the downswing so that the arms arepermitted to initiate the downswing in advance of any turning movementof the body. However, this checking in body pivoting is only momentaryas, in order to properly execute the downswing, it is neces-' sary thatthe body pivot to the left, but in a trailing order with respect to thedownswing of the arms. "lhe' release of the ratchet wheel from the iiimoaeva r influenee of the pawl and the consequent release of the cord 31to remove any f'urth'er restraint to pivotal movement "ofthe body of theoperator is 'eifectedby continued retation of the ratchet wheel to swingthe pawl from the position shown in Fig. 8 to that shown in Fig. 9. Byreference to these figures it willbe seen that the link $6 is in contactwith the screw 62thus transferring the pivot point of the pawl from thepin 52 to the pin 47. As a consequence, by eontinued rotation of theratchet wheel after the link has engaged the screw the ratchet wheelwill the teeth of the ratchet wheel'and thus offers nofurther hindrancetothe rotation of the sheave so that the cord 31 is now free to beunwound from the sheave and the operators bodyjfree to perform thereversep'ivot to complete the golf swing.

Under continued rotation of the ratchet wheel the pawl operates to swingthe link 46 to the aligned position shown in Fig. 11 in respect to therod 51, and it is to be noted that the curvature of the adjacent side ofthe pawl is such as to permit the teeth of the ratchet wheel to slidefreely thereover.. I-n this new position of the pawl the tooth 42thereof is now in engagement with the teeth of th is rotated in areverse direction itnwill'o'pen ate to restore the pawl and the link tothe normal position shown in Fig. 7. The manner in which this movementof the pawl is effected will be clear from a consideration of 12.

Assuming that the golf swing has been completed and it is desired .torepeat the swing in order that'the operator may be ined in'thc momentarychechingof the repivot to allow the arms to initiate'the (lm nswing, theclubis returned to an ad-' dressing position with respect to the ball,restoring the cords 30 and 81 to nor: an positionand in so doingrotating the sl ave in a clockwise direction to restore the controldevice to normal position. apparatus is ready for a second operationtocontrol the body pivoting in the manner de- "scribed. This momentarychecking in the body pivoting accomplishes the particular.

result sought in this adaptation of my apparatus, and by the repeateduse o'f'the apparatus a golf player may teach himself the art ofdelaying body pivoting until the arms have initiated the'downswing, andthereby eliminate some of the many-disastrous res ults possible in thedriving of a golf ball.

Adjustment of the spring 59 permits the mediately fo e ratchet wheel sothat whenv the latter Thus the pulling force required to rotatethesheav'e' and more t e 'co-i'itr'o'l device to released posi tion tobe va wl'iile'the screw 62 in controlling the throw aofcan vary theduration of the "-n o. or rest-mining 'actionin respect to the bodypivotg in order to compensate for different defective characteristicsinthe swing of golf players. It will be understood that by feeding thescrew (52 ii'l'w'ar'dly in the direction of the link throw of the latterfrom the normal position shown in Fig. 7 to a position cor-r pending tothat shown in Fig. 9, the distance to he traveled by he link will ofnecessity be si'iortened so tl'iat the time re quired to move the pawlli'to the released position shown in Fig. will becorrespmid inglyshortened by reason of the factthat iin ll'o-wing movement of the linkinto engagement with the screw that pawl is sprung to released positionunder tinned movement ofthe ratchet wheel and the expansive action ofthe spring 59. Conversely, adjustn'ientof thes'crew outwardly increasesthe throw of the link and conse= quently prolongs the checking orrestraining period. r -A djust1nent o" the belt permits the apparatus tobeappliedto players having different waist n1ea'sureinents, and byvirtue 'of the verseal adjustability of the casing on the rods 17, theapparatus can be adapted to players of different heights. 1

Although. I have herein shown and described only one form of golfinstructing apparatusembodying my invention, it is to be understood thatvarious changes and modifications may-be made herein withoutdepartingfrom the spirit of'the invention and ried'to suit a particularoperator, I

of the character destrain the body against movement in one directionandthen airinit the body to movein' tl'iatdirection. I p r I 2. Anapparatus .of the character described comprising means adapted forattach-Y merit to'the body, and mechanism operatively connected to saidmeans to permit freedom of movement or the body in one direction and,to, restrain the body against J movement in anotherdirection; V

3. A-n apparatus of the character described comprising means adaptal forattachment tothe body, and mechanism operatively connected to said meansto permit freedom of movementof the body in one direction'and'momentarily restrain the body. against movementin a reverse direction.

4:. A golf instructing apparatus comprising; meansa'dapted forattachment to the body to turn therewith, and mechanism op'e rativelyconnected to said means to yieldingly restrain the body against turningmovement in one direct-ion.

A golf instructing apparatus comprising means adapted for attachment tothe body to turn therewith, and mechanism operatively connected to saidmeans to permit freedom of turning movement of the body in one directionand to yieldingly restrain the body against turning movement in reversedirection.

6. A golf instructing apparatus compris- 1 ug means adapted forattachment to the body to turn therewith, and mechanism operativelyoonrmeted to said means to momentarily restrain. the body againstturning moven'ient in one direction.

7. A golf instructing apparatus comprising means adapted forattaclm'ient to the body to turn therewith, and mechanism operativelyconnected to said means to permit freedom of turning movement of thebody in one di rection and momentarily restraining the body againstturning movenr it in a reverse direction.

8. A golf instructing apparatus comprising means adapted for attachmentto the body so as to be moved by and with the body when pivoting as inswinging a golf club, and niiecl'ianism operatively connected to saidmeans for yieldably restraining the body against pivoting at the top ofthe swing until downward swinging movement of the arms has beeninitiated.

9. A golf instructing apparatus compriing means adapted for attachmentto the body so to be moved by and with the body when pivoting as inswinging a golf club, mechanism 'operatively connected to said means foryieldably restraining the body against pivoting at the top of the swinguntil dowmvard swinging movement of the arms has been initiated, andmeans to) ading the mechanism to vary its restraining action.

10. In an apparat .s of the character described, a member mounted forrotation, means for rotating the member in either direction, and meansoperating to yieldingly restrain the, member against rotation in onedirection, the last means being adjustable to vary the torque requiredto cause it'to yield and permit rotation of the member in saiddirection.

11. In an apparatus ot. the character described, a member mounted forrotation, means for rotating the member in either dire tion, a ratchetwheel fixed to the member for rotation therewitl'i, and a pawl urgedinto engagement with said wheel in a manner to yicldably restrain thewheel against rotation in one direction. 7 r

12. In an apparatus of the character described, a member mounted forrotation means for rotating the member in either direction, a ratchetwheel fixed to the member for rotation therewith, a pawl pivoted tooccupy one position in which it opposes movement of the wheel in onedirection and an other position in which the wheel is free to rotate,means for urging the pawl tothe rection, means operating to yicldinglyre- Sl1* illl the member against rotation in one.

dnection for a portion of its moven'l'ent in said direction, andadjustable means controlling the last means in a manner to control theaction of said restraining means in respect to said wheel.

1st. An apparatus of the character described comprising a su 1 )ort,mechanism vertically adjustable on the support and including a sheaverotatable in either direction, cords trained in opposite directionsabout the sheave, a belt to which the cords are connected tangentiallyand at ditlerent points so that when the belt in applied to the bodymovement of the latter in either direction and in the plane of the beltwill produce rotation of the sheave in one direction or theother, andmeans operating to yieldably restrain the sheave against rotation in onedirection.

15(111 an apparatus '01: the character described, a member mounted forrotation, means for rotating the member in either direction, a ratchetwheel fixed to the member for rotation therewith, a rod, a link pivotedon the rod, a pawl pivoted on the link to occupy one extreme position inwhich it is aligned with the l; and another extreme position in which itis at an angle to the link, said pawl being yieldably urged to thelastmentioned position and in either. position engaging said ratchetwheehand means tor urging said rod in such direction that the pawl willbe maintained in engagement with the ratchet wheeland rotation of thelatter yieldingly restrained as long" as the-pawl occupies thelast-mentioned position.

16. In an apparatus as embodied in claim 15 wherein adjustablemeansprovided at controlling movement of the link in the manner and for thepurpose described. I

1?. In an apparatus of the character described, a member mounted forrotation, means for rotating the member inv either di rection, and meansoperating to restrain the member against rotation in one direction for aportion of its movement in said direction.

18. In an apparatus of the character described, a member mounted forrotation,

means for rotating the member in either direetion and means operating torestrain the member against rotation in one direction for a portion ofits movement in said direction, and then oniclriv releasing the memberto permit unrestrained movement of the remainder of its movement.-

19. A golf instructing appara us comprising means adapted forattaclnnent to the body so as to moved byand with the body when pivotingas in swinging a golf club, and mechanism operatively connected to saidmeans for yieidably restraining the body against pivoting at the top oithe swing until downward swinging movement of the arms has beeninitiated, said mechanism including means operable by the first meansfor restoring the mechanism to normal position upon movement of the bodyto an addressing position so that when repeating the golf,

swing the mechanism will again act to yieldingly restram the bodyagamstplvoting until downward swinging movement of the arms has beeninitiated. a

pivoting as in swinging a golf club, meel1a-,

nism operatively connected to said means for yieldabiy restraining thebody against pivot- 1ng at the top of the swing until downward swingingl'ilUsCll'lOIli? or the arms has been initiated and means for ad ustingthe mechanism to vary its restraining action, sald. mechanism includingmeans operable by the first a means -tor restoring the mechanism tonormal position upon movement of the body to an addressing position sothat when repeating the golf swing the mechanism Will again act toyieidingly restrain the body against pivoting until downward swingingmovement of the arm has been initlated.

' ANDREW o. VOLK.

